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Algorithms aren’t just giving us euphemistic substitutions; they’re playing a defining role in every aspect of modern etymology.
But imagine if Chad told Brad he was bringing “alcoholic malt beverages to the day party.” Chad’s meaning would still be communicated, but less effectively than if he used the words “brewski” and “darty.” It would be weird for Brad because it’s not in their shared sociolect.
That’s why other phrasal templates are so widespread. The format “she X on my Y till I Z” is seen as funny with pretty much any substitution, so we got sentences like “she rizz on my gyat till I ohio.” It’s mostly nonsensical, yes, but the value of these templates and the way they can be combined with each other allows the words to stay in circulation much longer than they would otherwise.
without the fear that you’ll immediately put this down for another book the moment I write a lackluster sentence.
fuck you etymologynerd im putting this book down right now
Words don’t just evolve from point A to point B, but rather develop in the context of greater cultural moments. Language follows human needs, trends, and social groups; all linguistic changes are already emergent effects of a complex system.
Ulysses would never have succeeded on TikTok.
Our language, culture, and identity are inevitably molded by our environment, but we work through those molds to keep doing silly, ingenious things with language, because we’re resilient in our silliness and ingenuity.
